Wade Phillips doesn't expect to be a head coach again, and that's fine. He's happy to finally be working close to where he grew up. Phillips reported to work Monday for his first day as the Houston Texans' defensive coordinator, meeting with coach Gary Kubiak to talk about staff vacancies.

Gary Kubiak's time with the Houston Texans could be quickly running out after the team's unexpected plunge this season. Houston (5-10) lost for the eighth time in nine games on Sunday, blowing a 17-0 halftime lead in a 24-23 loss to Tim Tebow and the Denver Broncos.

Peyton Manning got Indianapolis' makeshift offense chugging like its old self Monday night. The four-time league MVP threw for two touchdowns, then watched Mike Hart run for a career-high 84 yards and Jacob Tamme score his first career TD to help Indy get past Houston 30-17.

How do the Houston Texans finally bust open the postseason door after coming within one win of making the playoffs for the first time in the franchise's eight-year existence? "It starts with beating the (Indianapolis) Colts in our division, a team that's pretty much owned the AFC South the last few years," quarterback Matt Schaub said. "It's time someone else goes out and gets it."

Things were looking pretty good for the Houston Texans. They ended last season on a four-game winning streak. At 9-7, they had the first winning season in franchise history and narrowly missed making a maiden playoff voyage. Then the calendar turned to May.

Brian Cushing was back on the football field Monday, glad to have a diversion from his recent problems. The Houston linebacker took part in the Texans' first offseason team practice after spending the last several days dealing with the fallout from a four-game suspension for testing positive for a performance-enhancing drug.

Houston Texans linebacker Brian Cushing says he neither injected nor took any banned substances even though he tested positive for a performance-enhancing drug. Cushing was suspended for four games without pay last week for violating the NFL's drug policy. His appeal was denied.

So who really stands the best chance to reap the most from its rookies now that the 2010 NFL draft has concluded? USA TODAY ranked the 20 league personnel executives who have been on the job for at least three years with their current team (the exception being Scott Pioli) to try and get a better idea as to who scores touchdowns in April, who settles for field goals and who coughs it up.

The NFL's free agent market opens its doors Friday, just after midnight ET. It remains to be seen if teams will line up like so many shoppers the day after Thanksgiving. With the start of the league's new year Friday the day the salary cap will officially melt away, though labor talks between owners and players continue to move at a glacial pace the NFL could also be entering a new era of player acquisition.